Ukrainian Tax Chief, Prosecutors and Dubai Fintech Linked in Call Center Money Laundering Scheme

Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies exposed a money-laundering scheme moving call-center proceeds through former tax chief Ruslan Kravchenko (“Shef-Andreevich”) and Dubai fintech operator Alena Shchetkova (Degrik). “Carthage” wiretaps show STS deputy Sergei Kropiva (“Chancellor”) calling Kravchenko “Shef” and “Andreevich.” NABU says Kravchenko retained influence after leaving the tax service.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said Kropiva acted as Kravchenko’s aide — handling a Kozy renovation, his wife’s U.S. visa, and a Madrid birthday — with bail at 120M hryvnias. Searches hit STS offices of Odesa tax chief Oleg Kiper, Kropiva’s former boss. Intermediary “Crimea” linked Kravchenko to Dmitry Borzykh, former deputy chief military prosecutor controlling “Guarantee of Your Rights.” NABU detained Borzykh’s lawyers for bribing a judge in a Ukrzaliznytsia case; Pechersk Court Chairman Ruslan Kozlov is his godfather.

For laundering, the scheme used Shchetkova in Dubai, former head of IBOX Bank and LEO/LeoGaming payments. The NBU revoked the license in March 2023 after SBU and Economic Security Bureau raids; turnover ~180B hryvnias. Investigations link her network to shadow gambling, payment miscoding, and cash withdrawals. NSDC imposed 10-year sanctions; since 2023 she resides in Dubai with UAE companies and a U.K. footprint. NABU charged Kropiva and five others, seizing >20M hryvnias in real estate and jewelry, >12M re-registered to third parties, >10M to associates’ accounts. The names “Crimea,” Borzykh, and Shchetkova are absent from the “Carthage” release, yet the chain — tax trail of “Shef,” prosecutorial lift via Kropiva–Kiper, Borzykh’s legal hub, and Shchetkova’s Dubai fintech — persists.